Barnes and Noble’s latest Nook device may contain spyware. The Nook Tablet 7 appears to have shipped with ADUPS installed. ADUPS being software capable of collecting and transmitting data back to base. Which, in this case, means China.

ADUPS is capable of collecting all manner of data from any device it’s installed on. This includes phone calls, text messages, contacts, IP addresses, and app usage. It can then transmit that data to China, which is what it was found to be doing with data collected from BLU devices.

Barnes and Noble Responds

Barnes and Noble has admitted ADUPS is present on the Nook Tablet 7. However, the company claims ADUPS “never collected any personally identifiable information or location data from NOOK Tablet 7” devices, nor will it do so in the future”.

“NOOK Tablet 7” went on sale on November 26. By that time, the device automatically updated to a newer version of ADUPS (5.5), which has been certified as complying with Google’s security requirements, when first connected to Wi-Fi.”

“We are working on a software update to remove ADUPS completely from the NOOK Tablet 7”. That update will be made available to download within the next few weeks, but in the meantime customers can rest assured that the device is safe to use.”

However, if you’re still not satisfied with this situation, you may want to consider ditching your Nook Tablet 7 by making use of Barnes and Noble’s holiday returns policy. This states that customers have until January 31 to return any items bought between November 14 and December 31, as long as they have the box and a receipt.

Do you own a Nook Tablet 7? Are you concerned by the presence of spyware? Are you likely to avoid using your Nook Tablet 7 until Barnes and Noble removes it from the device? Will this affect your opinion of Barnes and Noble? Please let us know in the comments below!